A 9/11 Victim Has Been Identified 16 Years After the Attacks

Advances in DNA testing have enabled medics to positively identify the remains of a victim of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, The New York Times reports.

It has been 16 years since 2,753 people were killed when the twin towers were destroyed, and more than two years since the last victim among them was positively identified.

The man — whose name officials have withheld at the request of his family — becomes the 1,641st victim of the attacks to be positively identified.

Improvements in the way DNA is extracted from bone fragments and more sensitive testing technology led to the latest positive identification, New York City’s chief medical examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson told the Times.

“This ongoing work is vital because with each new identification, we are able to bring answers to families affected by tremendous loss,” Sampson said.

Read more: Beyond 9/11 The 15 Year Anniversary of September 11

Around 40% of the people who died in the Sept. 11 attacks have yet to be positively identified.

[NYT]